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Ok, I got a fax from the vet that says what was found in the lab from their mouth culture.

Lizzy
Organism 1: Light growth of Enterobacter species
Organism 2: Light growth of Group D Enterococcus
Organism 3: Two colonies of Pseudomonas Species
Organism 4: Light growth Candida species

Ojay
Organism 1: Few colonies of Group D Enterococcus
Organism 2: Few colonies of Acnietobacter Species

The vet was a little suprised that Lizzy had so much going on at the same time. But like you said, he's a rescue. We've only had him a little over a year and he's always had a watering eye. I'm trying to find out as much as possible about these pathogens, but I'm not having much luck. Cheri, if you can help me out here I would really appreciate it.

At least only one of my beardies has the Candida. I feared that both were infected.

Thanks in advance for any help on this!

Veronica

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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

reptile, culture any and you will find some. It matters how many they have.... kind of like coccidia. Gram negative bacteria are found in the mouths and digestive tract of almost all reptiles and some can be found on the skin also.

But the Acinetobacter, Enterococcus and the Candida needs to be treated. And will probably require two different antibiotics... what did you vet recommend? And no, I would not treat the candida agressively with the strong antifungal meds, there are some mild ones that can clear it.

Let me know what he recommends and says... also, is he letting the cultures stand longer to see if any fungus grow or did he just do a API strip?

Here is a good site with laymen information on bacteria's in reptiles
Bacterias found in reptiles

I really appreciate your help and guidance on this. I didn't know that the Enterococcus needed to be treated. I knew that was a naturally occuring one becuase I'm most likely the one that put it there. The acidophilus that I started out using also has Enterococcus Faecium in it as well as Bifidobacterium. And the Enterococcus is found both in Lizzy and Ojay. They both get a steady dose of the probiotics 2 or 3 times a month. But I am now using the AcidophiliZ by Pet Authority. And it doesn't have Enter. or Bifid. in it.

Now when you say to treat Lizzy's Candida with a mild antibiotic - do you have any suggestions? The only ones i know of are the harsh ones like Itraconazole and Ketoconazole. I just picked up some GSE (grapefruit seed extract) and thought I'd give a little bit of that along with the AcidophiliZ. Do you have any info on GSE usage in reptiles?

I have yet to hear back from the vet. He was going to contact someone on the east coast for advice. Although he's a "reptile specialist" he's pretty young and admits that he has some to learn still. A few months ago he had never heard of YFD until I let him read your article.

As far as I know, the lab was letting the cultures grow. But I'll double check on that.

Oh yeah, one more thing ... you didn't mention the pseudomonas - is that something I should be worried about?

Thanks!
Veronica

"Gram negative bacteria are found in the mouths and digestive tract of almost all reptiles and some can be found on the skin also.

But the Acinetobacter, Enterococcus and the Candida needs to be treated. And will probably require two different antibiotics... what did you vet recommend? And no, I would not treat the candida agressively with the strong antifungal meds, there are some mild ones that can clear it.

Let me know what he recommends and says... also, is he letting the cultures stand longer to see if any fungus grow or did he just do a API strip?"

like I said and the link I directed you to, some occur naturally in bearded dragons or are no threat, but others can compromise them. Also it makes a difference which species of bacteria they have...... some are good, some should not be there.

He is probably checking with Dr Mader in California, if that is the case, follow whatever he recommends.... he understands bacterias in reptiles more than anyone in the US and is where I recommend others to turn to for this

...

our site and referrences some others that use it in reptiles.
Grapefruit seed extract

I didn't know that it could cause dehydration in the long term if used frequently. That's very interesting. But to use once in a while, like Parazap, as a preventative for healthy animals is great. And I plan to give it to Mo, Lizzy, and Ojay along with the acidophilus on a daily basis and see what happens in a week or two. Their appetites have been so poor lately that even a little bit of improvement will be noticable.

I'll keep you posted!

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons